This invention relates generally to transaction card holders and more particularly to a card holder for holding multiple transaction cards that allows the cards to be scanned by a card reader without detachment from the holder.
Transaction cards, stored value cards, or gift cards, as they are commonly called, based upon their intended use, have become popular gifts. Gift cards are typically provided with pre-designated amounts selected by the vendor and are typically packaged for display by adhering a gift card to a cardboard backer using removable adhesive and/or by wrapping the gift card to the backer using a clear plastic wrap. The backer typically includes a hole for receiving a display stand peg so that the backer and card may be hung upon a display stand in a retail setting. The card and/or the backer typically include indicia such as a trademark, logo, and card amount.
Gift cards are often associated with or provided by a particular retail vendor and can only be used to make purchases at a store or online ecommerce site associated with that particular vendor. Alternatively, gift cards may be provided by a bank or credit card company and may be used in a similar manner to a credit or debit card to make purchases from various vendors.
Gift cards may comprise a stored value card whereby a certain cash equivalent value is encoded upon a magnetic strip applied to the surface of the card. This stored value may be determined by the vendor prior to packaging and display for sale or may be selected at the point of sale by the purchaser and loaded by the cashier using a magnetic card reader/writer. As an alternative to a magnetic strip, a transaction card may use a bar code to link the card to an account by which the associated value is stored in a computer database.
Gift cards are often presented for sale on display racks in stores, each card or packet of cards being hung upon a display stand peg. A given area of a store will only support a certain number and size of display stands, given store traffic and other considerations, which makes allocation of display space an important marketing decision that may require selecting only certain high selling cards for display. Display of other items in the same store area will typically reduce the substantially finite space available for displaying gift cards and gift card packets.
Although they do offer a degree of personalization, in that the gift giver has at least selected a vendor that presumably offers merchandise or services of interest to the recipient, gift cards associated with or provided by a specific vendor are often considered too restrictive by both the gift giver and gift recipient as they limit purchases to that one vendor. Gift cards associated with banks or credit card companies are often considered too impersonal and merely as a more safe and convenient alternative to giving a gift of cash.
What is needed is a gift card holder for displaying and holding multiple gift cards from various vendors in an integrated package that also allows for scanning of each card without detachment from the package.